It is so refreshing when you come across a writer who is just such a good storyteller, has a wonderful way with language, and a completely original idea that just works. This was the case for me with Daniel Mason’s new book Country People.
The story is told from the point of view of Miles, forty-something, a man who has never quite finished his PhD, which is something to do with Tolstoy, but keeps shifting its focus. When his wife Kate is offered a visiting professorship at a college in Vermont, the idea is this will be the perfect opportunity to complete that dissertation. So they pack up the kids (Wesley and Olive) and their dog Giuseppe, which is the kind bred for truffle digging, and leave California.
The story follows their time in Vermont, through the seasons, as Miles finds endless distractions and slowly builds a sense of community. Kate, a warm-hearted and engaging teacher soon makes friends among her colleagues. But she worries about Miles, who is charming and can strike up a conversation with anyone, but seems a bit lonely. She never seems frustrated at his failure to complete his studies, or build a career, which might upset other spouses.
A colleague of Kate’s suggests he visit her husband, who has an orchard and who shows Miles how to scythe a field, which he can justify as research – Tolstoy’s peasants scythed. He helps out with the school production of a Shakespearean play directed by a flirty young thespian and meets a random collection of odd characters who are committed to discovering a hidden world. But none of these people are the kinds of people he imagines Kate would approve of, so he finds himself keeping secrets from her.
Seventeen miles away, at a gas station, they found themselves in a land of culinary abundance. What exotic flavours! What strange delectations! Raised in the land of the unprocessed and organic, attending public schools that maintained their own gardens, never had the children tasted of the Slurpee, the Twinkie, or the Pepperoni Pizza Cracker. Pringles they knew, but only at a distance. The friendly werewolf smiling on the chicken-flavoured puffs was still a stranger. Could they guess the central ingredient of the Corn Nut? Who was this Sara Lee of such extraordinary industry? Or “Slim Jim,” and why were his meat sticks packaged in the same colour scheme as Pennzoil?
One thing I really liked about the book was that in spite of some of their odd ideas, all the characters are kind. Miles and his family are all good sorts too, which makes a welcome change as often contemporary fiction is peppered with characters who have issues, who rage or who are just unpleasant. But here the author, like Miles, seems to find the good in everyone and yet still make them really interesting. And when disaster strikes, they all come together when they need to.
The other thing I really enjoyed was the way you read through the seasons and the setting changes to suit that, along with the local activities. Swimming in the river, autumn harvesting to skiing lessons and everything in between. It kind of meanders a little, but in an enjoyable way, and is never boring, before building up to a brilliant conclusion. Maybe this is also because Miles is good company, and that Mason is such a witty writer. All in all, this was a great read, and a new author for that must-read list. Country People is a five-star read from me.
